//------------------------------//
// 12: Understanding Madness, Dementia 
// Story: Nightmare Moon Crashes the Oblivion Crisis 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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	"Ah, the Knights of Order," Sheogorath boomed the moment Pandora and her friends returned to the palace, "They're early, and no one likes the early bird. They only arrive in the Shivering Isles during the Greymarch, to make the way ready for their terrible master, Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order...or Biscuits. No, no, its Order. Dull, colorless Order. I wasn't expecting the Knights for another week, or maybe a month, but they're way earlier than their supposed to be. Haskill and I will have to discuss this at length while I send you on your next task, but do feel free to call upon him when you in the Isles. Maybe he'll give you some advice!"

"Their next task, Lord Sheogorath?" Haskill commented, merely giving a track back to what his master was talking about.

"Ah, yes, thank you Haskill," Sheogorath said, turning back to the assembled group, "It has come to my ever divided attention that the Lord of Mania and the Duchess of Dementia have some problems that they cannot solve on their own. They have asked me for assistance, but due to the pressing matter of the Greymarch, and now the Knights of Order, I'm afraid that I must prepare for Jyggalag's arrival and cannot help them myself. You three, on the other hand, are not tied down by the threat of the realm ending, so I want you to speak with Lady Syl and Lord Thadon and resolve whatever problems they have. And when you return, maybe I'll have a more important task for you. Or maybe I'll just skip rope with your entrails!"

Instead of immediately heading to one of the two rulers of New Sheoth the trio left the palace and retired to an area where they could easily discuss their next course of action.

"So, which should we visit first?" Pandora asked, curious as to what her companion's takes were on their latest task from the Madgod, "Syl or Thadon?"

"Syl strikes me as the type that might believe that someone is out to get her," Nightmare commented, "I mean, she does rule the side of New Sheoth that deals with death and paranoia, so it would only make sense that she'd believe that someone might want her dead. She could also simply ask us to delve into another ruin, slay whatever calls the place home, and then emerge from the area with a special treasure that she wants."

"And Thadon rules Mania, where artists are supposed to reside," Luna replied, shaking her head, "I would wager that he'd ask us to recover some treasure that he believes has been stolen and then bring it back to him. Or maybe he'll see the three of us, get the impression that he really doesn't need our help with his problem, and then send us away and claim that we helped him."

"I think we had better see what Lady Syl wants first," Pandora said, turning towards the House of Dementia, "and its not because I'm favoring her over Thadon, its just that I think we might have more fun dealing with her problem than we will with Lord Thadon's request."

With their choice made the trio ventured into the House of Dementia, where they found two people running around while a third person, a women dressed up in a fancy robe, sat in the throne near the back of the room. Without having to be told the trio knew that the lady before them was none other than Lady Syl, though it was clear that she had no idea what to make of them. The people running around noticed that the trio had entered the room as well, though they returned to their Lady's sides and placed a hand on their weapons, just in case one of them were to attack their master.

"Ah, you must be the trio that Lord Sheogorath entrusted to take care of my problem," Lady Syl said, glancing at each of them as if they might attack her at any moment, "My problem is simple; I'm afraid that there is someone in Crucible that wants me dead and will stop at nothing to make sure that I lie dead on the ground. You, my dear Pandora, shall be my Grand Inquisitor, and you shall go out into Crucible and discover who is behind this plot to end my life. If no one is found, then it shall be you who pays the price. Speak to my torturer, Herdir, and begin your quest."

Pandora nodded and walked into the west passage that connected to the Dementia throne room, walking through the corridor and turning right once more until she came to the torture chamber. There she found the torturer cleaning his tools, apparently bored that he couldn't do anything until his master commanded him to do something. Once she explained to him what was going on they were walking back to where Syl was sitting, only when they arrived the Lady of Dementia was no longer there. As they approached Nightmare and Luna Pandora had to ask where Syl went, just in case that whatever plot they were supposed to prevent had already happened.

"She retired to her chambers for the evening," Nightmare replied, beckoning to the two soldiers still standing guard, "but I would suggest that we start our interrogation by speaking with those two over there. They're the closest to Lady Syl, so if there truly is a plot against her then one of them would have to know something, however small, about it."

As it turned out the redguard, Kithlan, require two beatings from the torturer, in the form of being hit by lightning, before he ratted out his fellow guard, Anya. After a blast of lightning Anya told them that the people of Dementia were speaking out against Lady Syl, though she believed that Cutter, the blacksmith, might know more about the issue than she did. Pandora glanced at the two of them for a moment, wondering if the two of them were telling the truth, before she decided to let them off the hook and left the House of Dementia with her companions following behind her.

When they got to Cutter's place Pandora burst into the shop and began questioning her, finding nothing to aid her until she resorted to asking Herdir to blast her as well. The moment the shock therapy was over Cutter was ready to truthfully answer her questions, but the only answer she could get was that the khajiit, Ma'zaddha, was acting weird and was usually speaking to someone behind  the shop. With the information in hand Pandora left the smith to her duties and circled around to the back of the shop, dropping into an area that would be private unless someone was watching from above. That was when she noticed a pair of crates that created a perfect location to hide someone, which she believed would serve as the perfect location to eavesdrop on whoever the khajiit was speaking with.

"Okay, here's how we'll handle this," Pandora said, beckoning for the other three to join her, "Herdir and Nightmare will stay up here, just around the corner to leave the main walkway clear for whoever is coming, so we can ambush them after their conversation. Luna and I shall stalk behind the crates, where she should be able to remain unseen until we discover the truth behind this plot. Hopefully whoever is behind this vile plot is foolish enough to speak with that khajiit tonight, otherwise we might have to wait until the following night to try again."

"We'll be ready for your signal," Nightmare replied, unhappy that she wasn't going to be sitting next to Pandora and had to deal with a trigger happy torturer.

Luna nodded her agreement and the group split in half, with Nightmare and Herdir heading to an area that would allow them to watch the action without behind seen by those in the pit. Pandora and Luna walked into the pit and pulled themselves behind the crates, where Luna held up a hand and crafted a shadow spell that made it look like nothing was unusual about the crates. It was, she explained, the best way for them to remain undetected in this situation, just in case whoever the khajiit was speaking to happened to be one of Lady Syl's own elite guards. Pandora had to admit it, but she was enjoying the fact that Luna was thinking outside the box and was allowing them an even greater chance to complete their mission.

They barely had to wait an hour before the khajiit arrived, but as they waited another ten minutes they noticed a Dark Seducer walking over to where they were, unaware that they were being spied on.

"Have you made any progress, cat?" the Dark Seducer asked, clearly annoyed that they were speaking at this time, "Will Anya assist us in our mission?"

"No, she will not be assisting us," Ma'zaddha replied, "and its all because of that blasted Inquisitor. We'll need to find someone else that will help us."

"See that you find someone immediately," the Seducer said, clearly annoyed by the answer, "You were assigned this one task, so I expect you to carry it out without fail. If you cannot complete your mission than I shall remove you...are we clear?"

"Yes, yes, we want to see Syl dead as much as you do!" the khajiit replied once more, "Its despicable for her to be allowed to survive, not after everything she's done."

"I shall be expecting a report soon," the Seducer finished, clearly dismissing the khajiit as if the meeting was over, "Keep your head down and make sure that the Inquisitor doesn't get involved."

Before the khajiit could respond the Seducer was on her way, walking up the ramp before heading into the small city, leaving her conspirator all alone. Pandora stepped out of the illusion and approached him, scaring the daylights out of him as he realized that someone overheard the entire conversation, though he paled once he discovered exactly who that someone was. Just as the khajiit was about to spill his guts Luna appeared and silenced him, waiting until she got a nod from Nightmare, telling her that the Seducer was gone and that it was okay to speak.

"Please, you cannot tell Syl I am involved," the khajiit pleased, though it was clear that he had another idea in mind as well, "Wait, I can give you a list of names that reveal who the ringleader of this entire plot is! Please, I'll give them up to spare my life!"

"Then go," Nightmare commanded, shoving him along, "We'll stand outside and be sure that your true to your word. If not, then you'll become acquainted with my battleaxe."

The khajiit paled even further and ran back to his house, with the four of them walking behind, making sure that no one got close enough to kill their informant. As the khajiit entered his living quarters the four took up position around the main door, though they had no idea how long it would take him to gather the necessary information. An hour quickly passed them by, so while Nightmare stayed back with Herdir to guard the entrance Pandora and Luna entered the house, intending to search for the khajiit. That was when they found him dead on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood, though after a little bit of searching it was revealed that he was carrying a key to something upstairs.

What they found was a crumpled note revealing that someone named Muurine, which Pandora seriously hoped was the ringleader that the khajiit had been willing to sell out to them to save his own life. The other item was a sword that seemed like the ones that the Dark Seducer's used in combat, though that was when she realized that the guard they had seen had been missing this one item on her belt. Nightmare was not pleased to hear that the khajiit was dead, but she accepted his fate and suggested that they moved on, either to the guard or whoever the note mentioned.

It was ironic, because as they rounded the corner they found the same guard walking their way, though the moment she spotted the sword in Pandora's hands she realized that she had been caught. It was then that she admitted that she was part of the conspiracy, though she was quick to point out that Muurine was the ringleader that wanted Lady Syl dead. The moment that she revealed all her information she fled from the scene, though Pandora prevented Nightmare from chasing her and killing her, as they had the bigger fish they needed to catch before she, too, fled the city.

Herdir lead them to Muurine's house, where they barged in and found the culprit sitting in her chair, reading a book until she realized that she had guests. Before she could ask what the meaning of their illegal action was Pandora had Herdir step forward and blast her in the chest, knocking her into the wall. Once she was down Pandora asked her about the conspiracy, to which the lady admitted her involvement and that she was the one who wanted Lady Syl dead. Nightmare appeared beside her and grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back to give her the best hold to escort her to the House of Dementia.

Lady Syl's guards were amazed when the four of them walked into the throne room, where one of them ran to wherever Lady Syl's bed was located to wake her up. Not moments later the ruler of Dementia walked into the room and laid eyes on their captive, beckoning for them to follow her back to the torture room. Once there Muurine was shoved into the cage in the center and the door was locked, though it didn't last very long as Lady Syl activated a switch and killed her in an instant. His task complete Herdir returned to his duties, though it was clear that Lady Syl was grateful from them figuring out who was after her, this time anyway.

At the end of the mess the group walked out of the House of Dementia, though Pandora was now carrying a bow that was more powerful than the one she had previously been carrying, something Lady Syl had called 'Ruin's Edge'.

"One down," Pandora commented, turning towards the House of Mania, "and one to go."